OPINION: Time is Running Out to Save the Salton Sea

In the mid-1940s, the Salton Sea was a hotbed of activity, attracting Hollywood’s most glamorous actors and musicians to its yacht clubs and campgrounds. Now, what was once the largest lake in California is disappearing before our eyes and endangering all its life. We can still save it, but if we don’t, we will have a massive public health, environmental and economic crisis that could cost as much as $70 billion. The Salton Sea is a lake that was created most recently 112 years ago after canals and dikes failed along the Colorado River, opening the Imperial Valley to extreme flooding.